1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a method for controlling the use of heating energy and more particularly to a method for providing uniform heating in a multi-level building, usually less than twenty stories.
2. Description of the Prior Art
One method for regulating and controlling the temperature on various floors of a multi-level building is by the provision of a thermostat for each floor. While this is a very widely accepted practice and is efficient, it does have very serious drawbacks. For example, energy could be wasted very easily since there is no central control for each of the thermostats. In a multi-level building, for example where there are a plurality of apartments, it would be entirely possible for the temperature to be maintained at either excessively high levels or at excessively low levels, and thereby result in increased costs to the landlord or owner of the building, as well as a waste of energy.
In another form of prior art, only a single thermostat is utilized. It has been the accepted practice to place the single thermostat at as low a level as possible. Since hot air rises, it was expected that the heat from the lower floors would find its way upwardly and accordingly, when the lower floor wherein the thermostat was positioned, reached the desired temperature, the upper floors would surely be heated to at least this desired temperature. It will be evident, however, that the upper floors could conceivably become overheated before the lower floor reaches the desired temperature.
While the theory of hot air rising is undoubtedly correct, and it may very well occur in a single large room such as a warehouse in a multi-level building having partitions, separations, individual rooms and individual apartments, the physical separation of each of these enclosures prevents sufficient flow of heat and accurate monitoring of temperature from the lower floors to the higher floors. As a result, when the thermostat is placed in the lowest position, a condition frequently occurs that is contrary to the desired result.
The heat flow through the pipes and tubes is more critical in determining uniformity than the air flow within the given enclosure. Whether pipes are used for hot water or steam heating, or ducts are used for hot air heating, the heat will reach the lower floor and cause the temperature on the lower floor to reach a higher value before the upper floors. The heated air in each enclosure does not flow upwardly as quickly as is necessary and in order to achieve a higher temperature on the higher floors, it is necessary to set the thermostat on the lower floor at an unnecessarily high level. This results in uneven heating whereby the lower floors will be relatively warm and the upper floors will be relatively cold.
The basic problem has been recognized for quite some time but prior to my invention there has been no practical resolution of the problem. One example of a prior art attempt to solve the problem is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,195,802 granted on Apr. 2, 1940 to H. S. Turner. In this patent there is disclosed a plurality of thermostats for each feedline with the resulting effect of each thermostat being interrelated with the others. Although this patent does disclose a thermostat at the end of one line, this is used only for minimum temperature control and not for the main temperature control. Furthermore, the effect of the thermostat at the end of the line is always interrelated and integrated with the effects of the other thermostats utilized in the same patented structure. There is no disclosed control of the quantity of heat emitted by each of the radiators. What is provided is an automatic control to reset the thermostats in accordance with the interrelationships that are developed. It will be very evident that the structure disclosed in this patent is extremely costly to purchase and install and requires excessively expensive maintenance.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,868,461 granted on Jan. 13, 1939 to G. T. Gaddis is another example of the prior art directed to the same problem as the present invention. This patent discloses plural zones each having its own valve. However, this patent discloses, basically, a feedback system for controlling the flow in the entire zone in accordance with the information developed from the thermostat. Although the patent does show the use of a thermostat at the end of a feedline, there is no control from that thermostat for the entire feedline in order to provide a uniform temperature. Instead, the patented structure makes use of the inside as well as the outside thermostats to control the single valve for the entire zone. There is no disclosure in this patent for controlling each individual radiator valve.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,376,482, granted on May 22, 1945 to G. D. Guler et al. there is a disclosure for a control for a main valve that is responsive to changes in outside temperature. It will be appreciated from the description of the present invention that follows that the Guler et al. patent is distinguished therefrom by its absence of any inverse relationship between the temperature gradient and the quantity of heat flow.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,140,486 granted on Dec. 13, 1938 to J. Turner is another example of the prior art in the same general field to which the present invention is directed. This last mentioned patent provides control of individual regulators in order to maintain a specified temperature. However, this last mentioned patent basically discloses a feedback system wherein the control is continuous in accordance with the settings of the thermostat. The patented structure does not provide any disclosure relating to an inverse relationship between the location of a plurality of valves and a single, common heat source.
By way of summary then, although the foregoing examples of the prior art teach feedback system, the use of a valve control for each radiator, interrelationships between thermostats and many other features, none of them disclose or suggest a particular pattern for the control or the distribution of the quantity of heat at each particular location in order to achieve uniform heating along a common feedline by means of a single thermostat located at a point most remote from the heat source. The present invention permits a constant temperature to be reached on every floor with simple and efficient means. The temperature is stable and can be controlled automatically.